


Begin again

by irisdouglasiana



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: F/M, Star Wars AU, look I don't know about the rest of this but I DO know that jack is a sassy droid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-21 02:43:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16150874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irisdouglasiana/pseuds/irisdouglasiana
Summary: A dozen star systems and an identity change or three should have been enough space between Peggy Carter and the rebellion, but that was apparently not the case.





	Begin again

A dozen star systems and an identity change or three should have been enough space between her and the rebellion, but that was apparently not the case: Peggy had barely settled in for her glass of whiskey in a rundown bar on Ord Mantell when she spotted the pilot, followed by a hulking Imperial droid. He was not much taller than her, handsome and dark-haired, with the slightest trace of a limp, and utterly failing to blend in. She could have bolted right then and there—later she wondered why she hadn’t—but she stayed put instead and met his eyes as he walked over and took a seat across from her.

“Captain Carter,” he said with a nod. “Can I get you a drink?”

“Another time, perhaps,” she said, pointedly taking a sip of her whiskey as she drew her blaster under the table. “And I’m afraid I’m no longer a captain,” she smiled. “You are…”

“Captain Daniel Sousa. This is J2-T0,” he said, nodding at the droid.

“I prefer Jack,” the droid interjected.

“—he prefers Jack,” Sousa sighed.

“And what can I do for you gentlemen?”

Sousa leaned forward. “The Alliance needs you back, Captain.”

“I work alone,” Peggy said coolly. She didn’t want to have to blast her way out of this bar and draw attention to herself, but she would if necessary. She discreetly eyed the exits and placed her finger on the trigger. Once she was out of there, she could head to the docking bay and alert Jarvis to prepare the ship for takeoff, and then they could go…well, somewhere else. After a while, all star systems began to look the same.

He was undeterred. “I’ve read your record. You had an impressive career; you earned your rank as captain in just a few months and were well on your way to commander. And you made some errors in judgment. You were reckless. You disobeyed direct orders.” 

“You weren’t there with me, so I hardly see what grounds you have to lecture me on doing what I felt was right at the time. Nor do I understand what use the Alliance would have for a captain that has already been dismissed,” she flared. She set down her glass with so much force she nearly broke it. “Now, if that will be all, Captain Sousa…”

He glanced around and lowered his voice. “Shortly before he died, Commander Rogers recovered some valuable financial information on certain high-ranking Imperial officers. We believed the information had been lost with his ship near Wobani, but new intelligence suggests this was not the case.”

 _Commander Rogers._ The name sent a jolt down her spine. “He didn’t send it to me, if that’s what you’re implying.”

“I’m not implying that. We know after his communications were cut, he tried to jettison the escape pods just before the ship broke up. Of the three, two failed to eject. One succeeded. We wondered at the time why he hadn’t used it himself. We now think he transmitted the information to a droid, which he put in the escape pod instead. Trouble is, we don’t know exactly where he sent it. My mission is to recover it before the Empire does.”

She gave him a skeptical look. “I fail to see why you need me for any of this.”

“I know you and the commander were…close. You probably knew him better than anybody in the Alliance. We want your insight and your expertise. And you’ll get your command back.”

 _No. No, they would not drag her back in, not like this, not over Steve_. “And if I refuse?”

“You do know that she’s about to shoot you underneath the table, Captain?” Jack cut in. Peggy glared at the droid but took her finger off the trigger.

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t shoot me,” Sousa said, seemingly unfazed. “Of course, we can’t compel you to…” he trailed off. She followed his gaze to the side door, where a pair of Stormtroopers had entered and were scanning the room. “Looks like it’s time to move.”

“Agreed.” She holstered her blaster but kept her hand hovering just above the grip as she stood up and walked casually towards the main entrance with Sousa and Jack following, and she found herself wishing the droid wasn’t so bloody conspicuous—a worry that was confirmed when one of the Stormtroopers barked at them to halt. Sousa abruptly shoved her to the side as the first round blaster fire shot past her head, almost singing her hair. The bar patrons scattered and ran, and Peggy wheeled around and fired back. Her shots went wild but it was enough to keep the Stormtroopers at bay as they ran down the narrow alleys and dodged street vendor carts and trader caravans.

Behind her, Sousa stumbled, and as she grabbed him arm and yanked him forward she saw the smoking hole in his right knee where the blaster had left its mark, and the glint of metal of the prosthetic underneath. Jack swiftly moved to support Sousa on his other side, freeing Peggy up to return fire and cover them until they reached his ship. The engines roared to life and they took off not a moment too soon, clearing the atmosphere and making the jump to hyperspace, leaving Ord Mantell behind them.

* * *

Once they were safely in hyperspace, Peggy transmitted her message to Jarvis, waiting patiently for her down in the loading dock, and instructed him to abandon the ship immediately and head to their rendezvous point. It gave her a bit of a pang to leave the droid behind; he had been her only real companion—and friend—in those months after she had left the Alliance. But Jarvis was resourceful and she had no doubt they would be reunited soon.

In the meantime, she had two new companions. Sousa had saved her life down there—and she had saved his in turn, so they were at least even. On the other hand, she knew better than to trust them, and she hadn’t actually agreed to help the Alliance with this new mission. She needed more information about what they were really up to. She left her quarters and walked down the corridor in the direction of their voices, careful not to make a sound, and peeked around the corner.

“…for all the damage you do, do you think prosthetics grow on trees?” Jack was saying. “Do you have any concept of how much these parts cost to replace, especially on an Alliance salary?”

Sousa was sitting with his pants leg rolled up while Jack tinkered with the prosthetic, looking exasperated. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t sell you for scrap metal at the next trading outpost. Just one.”

“Bold words from the man whose knee I’m currently repairing, Captain Sousa, _sir_.”

“…I hate you, Jack.”

“You’re a real pal.” The droid deftly cut and replaced a damaged wire. “So, Captain Carter seems like a spitfire. A pistol. A regular hellcat—”

“Uh huh,” Sousa said dryly, but he declined to elaborate.

Just when Peggy thought the conversation might take a turn towards something more useful for her purposes, Jack lifted his head and looked straight in her direction. “It seems we have company. Perhaps our company would like to come around the corner and say hello?”

She felt very sheepish as she stepped around the corner. “Captain Sousa,” she said with a nod. “Jack.”  

“Captain Carter,” Sousa acknowledged. He looked away and rolled his pant leg back down.

She leaned up against the wall, tracing the grooves of the panels with her fingertips. “Peggy is fine.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Then you can call me Daniel.”

She had completely forgotten what she wanted to say after that, so she stood there awkwardly until Jack broke the silence. “Well, Danny boy, you did a number on the hydraulics in the knee. I’ll see if there’s anything on board we can use as a substitute. Besides, it looks like you and Marge—we’re on a first name basis now, right?—need a ‘moment,’ as the euphemism goes.” Then the droid stalked off, continuing to mutter to himself about the price and availability of various mechanical parts.

“I wasn’t the one who reprogrammed him,” Daniel said apologetically.

“‘Marge’?” she repeated, shaking her head. She turned her attention back to Daniel. “I never said I would be part of this mission, you realize.”

“I know. I can’t force you, and I don’t want to force you anyway. We can drop you off anywhere you want. Though you may not want to go back to Ord Mantell until things cool down.”

Perhaps it was foolish for her to believe him, but she did. After a moment of hesitation, she walked over and took a seat on the bench beside Daniel. “You know my record, but I think I perhaps owe you a fuller explanation. As you said, Commander Rogers and I were very close. I admired him greatly. He was a masterful tactician and of course his skills in battle were rightfully celebrated, but more than that, he embodied the spirit of the rebellion. He was by no means perfect, but it was a true honor to know him. And in the end, he gave his life for the Alliance. I was the last person to speak to him before he died.” She tried to keep her voice steady, but she could hear the emotion creeping in. “I’m sorry. I assure you, I don’t do this often.”

“I’m sorry I never met him.” Daniel was silent for a moment. “I left the Alliance too. After the siege on Vega IV. I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for the commander. I only decided to return in the last month. Just when you think you’re out they pull you back in, you know?”

Peggy’s eyes widened at the mention of Vega IV. Almost one year ago, the small rebel base on that moon had been all but decimated in an Imperial siege. Hundreds had died before a fleet led by Commander Rogers had been able to rescue the others, only months before he had sacrificed his own ship in order to save the rest of his fleet. So Daniel had been one of the survivors. “You’re one of the lucky ones.”

He nodded and looked down, picking at a loose thread on his sleeve. “They put me back together, yeah. A lot of good people didn’t make it.”

“You said you left the Alliance. Why did you decide to come back?”

He looked up. “After I got hit, I went to my commander—Dooley, he was a good man—and told him I was done. He said he was sorry to lose me but it was my choice, and the rebellion would go on with or without me. He was killed in action two months ago. And, well.” He smiled faintly. “I decided the rebellion would go on with me.”

Without thinking, Peggy reached out and put her hand over his. He didn’t pull away. “Daniel, I…”

At that very moment, Jack returned triumphantly with the part he had been looking for. “Captain Sousa, you’re a lucky man, I dismantled that broken thruster and—ah. You _are_ a lucky man.” He sounded as gleeful as a droid could possibly sound.

Peggy snatched her hand away and stood up. “Well, I’ll let you gentlemen get back to work,” she said hastily, and fled to her quarters without another word.

* * *

She rejoined them in the cockpit after her embarrassment had sufficiently subsided and Jack had completed his makeshift repairs to Daniel’s leg. “You set our course for Wobani?” she asked, scanning the controls.

“Yeah. Figured it makes the most sense for us to begin the search in the last known location of the ship.” He hesitated. “That is, if you’re coming with us.”

“Exiting hyperspace in fourteen seconds, Captain,” Jack informed them. “You do realize that the odds of all of us dying on this mission are—”

“—very high, I know, thank you, Jack,” Daniel interrupted. He glanced over his shoulder at Peggy. “Well, Carter, what’ll it be?”

 _I decided the rebellion would go on with me_ , he had said, and in that moment Peggy made up her mind. A new mission, with new companions. A chance to begin again. She took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m in.”

And Daniel smiled at her shyly, pulled the lever, and blasted them into the future.


End file.
